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2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

J. B. RYAN. BED.

(No Model.)

Patented Jan. 15,1895.

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BED. No. 532,741. Patent'edfian. 15, 1895.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JAMES B. RYAN, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

BED.

$PECIFICATION forming part Of LettersI-atent N0. 532,741, dated anuary15, 1895 Application filed April 14,1894 Serial No. 507,600. (No model.)v

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, JAMES B. RYAN,a citizen of the United States,residing vat. New York, in the county of New York and State of New York,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Beds, of which thefollowing is a specification, reference being had therein to theaccompanying drawings. I

Figure 1, is a top or plan view of my improved bed. Fig. 2, is an edgeview, looking in the direction of the arrow Fig. 1. Fig. 3, is a top orplan view of a modification of one part of my invention. Fig. 4, showsthe suspension rods detached, and enlarged. Fig. 5 is a modificationupon a reduced scale.

Like reference letters are applied to similar parts in all the drawings.

Referring particularly to Figs. 1 and 2, A A are the side rails and B B,the end rails of a rectangular frame, such as is ordinarily used inwoven wire mattresses; these parts being bolted together in the usualway.

0 O, are metal plates or strips, each secured at one end edge to theupper side of one of the end rails and projecting inward therefrom. Eachof these metal plates is provided near its inner edge with a series ofholes, 0, c. D D, arehelical springs, each provided at its ends withhooks or open eyes, (1 ol; but as the above referred to parts may be ofany usual or approved construction they need not be more specificallydescribed.

E, e e, represent suspension rods, each of a length correspondingclosely to the widthof the bed. These rods are made preferably of roundbar iron or wire of such diameter as will insure sufficient strength;and, preferably, of such size and quality as will permit their ends 6 ebeing bent at right angles to the intermediate main portions E withoutheating. To provide against rusting I usually prefer to make thesesuspension rods of brass wire or nickel plate them. Between thesuspension rods I hang a support for the mattress; and for this purposeI employ some of the well-known wire work, canvas, or such othermaterials as may be deemed appropriate 1 7 preferably, by means of oneor more strands of wire f, f which is wound around the rods andinterwoven or interlaced with the terminal convolutions of the fabric;or the fabric may be bent around the rods, or secured thereto by windingits separate strands each around the rods, as shall be found mostconvenient.

By examining Figs. 1 and 4, it will be seen "that when the parts areproperly arranged in working position the bent over ends e, e, of thesuspension rods are surrounded by the adjacent helical springs intowhich they project practically their entire length. The springs thus actas stops to restrict the movement of the rods endwise; and it will alsobe seen that by making these rods of suitable length the hooks of thesprings are prevented fromslipping away from the angles of the rods byreason of the engagement therewith of the wire convolutions with thebent ends of the rods when the shanks of the hooks are about in linewith said convolutions, as indicated in Fig. 4; but to avoid thenecessity of so much accuracy in shaping the hooks I prefer to wind thewire with a turn or two around the rod outside of the hook and throughthe fabric inside of the hook as shown at f Fig. 4. It will also beunderstood that a proper spacing of the hooks of the intermediatesprings is also maintained by the engagement of the wire at f this beingthe case with any of the above referred to modes of connecting the wirefabric with the rods. Thus the combination of 'the hooks, the suspensionrods, and the wire co-operates to perform a number of functions.Thus,'for instance, the engagement of the outwardly bent ends of thewire rods with the edge strands of the fabric and the inner surfaces ofthe adjacent helical springs effectually prevents all possibility of thefabric slipping 0E from the ends of the wires; or, of the endwisedisplacement of. the

wires relative to the fabric; while the engagement of the spring hookswith the wires and the convolutions of the fabric prevent lateraldisplacement of the said hooks along the wire. One advantage which isincident to this part of my invention is the avoidance of objectionableangular corners or projections at the places where these three membersengage with each other, thus avoiding all danger of tearing thesuperimposed mattress or other bedding at these points.

Prior to this invention it was customary, as, forinstancein saidPatentNo. 2e1,32l,granted to C. II. Dunks and myself, to connect thewire fabric with the spiral springs by means of an interposed transversebar which was of such thickness and width that it was practically rigidand unyielding in the direction of the pull of the fabric, so that incase said fabric became stretched or weakened in some particular placeit was impossible to take up the resulting slack by increasing thetension of one or more of the springs at points opposite the defectiveplace or places; but by the use of a wire rod E c e such as I havedescribed, the tension upon any particular portion of the wire fabriccan be regulated at will, for the purpose of taking up slack orotherwise; as will be readily understood without further explanation. Itis evident that such regulation of the tension upon the wire fabriccannot be accomplished in a bed where the springs at one end of the bedare each connected with its opposite spring by means of one or morelongitudinal non-extensible metallic attachments as is common in somebed bottoms.

As a further support for the fabric I propose to combine therewith, andarrange below it, a series of diagonal strap metal braces, as they aresometimes called, G, G, each socured at one end by one of the cornerbolts passing through it; and each having attached to its inner end oneof the helical springs II, II, and instead of so arranging the bracesthat if they were prolonged they would intersect at the center of thebed, I so dispose them that each side pair would, if prolonged, convergeat a relatively short distance from one of the side rails A, and thenattach to the inner end of each brace on e transverse connection of asort which will insure an equal tension upon all the braces under allthe circumstances of ordinary use. In my Patent No. 411,302, .I employ acentral rectangular metal plate so combined with the braces and springsthat the braces running from diagonally opposite corners are about inline with each other and with the center of the plate, which is arrangedwith its longer sides running lengthwise of the bed; but in thisinvention 1 connect the inner ends of the springs and braces with eachother by means of a transversely arranged link or tie, so that thebraces which run from diagonally opposite corners of the bed are not inline with each other nor with the center of the transverse connectinglink or tie. The inner ends of these springs are all connected with eachother through a short piece of chain, I; one pair of springs beingconnected to one of the end links, 2', of the chain; the other pairbeing connected to a link at the opposite end of the chain; the resultof this combination and arrangement of parts being a practically uniformtension upon all of the springs and strap braces. Another advantagewhich is incident to this last referred to combination of parts is thatthe tension of the springs can be regulated at will by hooking them intodifferent links of the chain without disturbing the uniformity of thistension. Thus, if it be desired to increase the tension one pair ofsprings II, may be hooked into the chain link 21' adjacent to link i, towhich, in the drawings, they are now attached.

In Fig. 3, I have shown a modification of the strap metal braces and thespring tension. In this figure each pair of metal braces J J, and J J,is connected to one end of a helical spring, K, which is disposedtransversely of the bed as is the short piece of chain in the otherfigures. Of course each brace is seen red at its outer end preferably,by one of the corner bolts as in the other bed.

From an examination of Fig. 3, it will be seen that the tension isperfectly uniform upon each and every one of the four braces; and thatit can be increased, or brought up to its original strength in case itbecomes relaxed, by cutting off one or more convolutions of the springand forming a hook upon the next re maining turn or coil, without in anymanner disturbing the uniformity of tension upon each and every one ofthe four braces. In this modification of one part of my invention I haveomitted the suspension rods and the helical springs which connect themto the end rails of the frame; but itwill of course be understood thateither combination and arrange ment of the strap metal braces and theirtension devices may be used at the option of the maker with eitheracontinuous sheet of wire fabric attached at its ends to the end railsof the frame, or a fabric attached to the suspension rods as indicatedin the other figures.

In an earlier patent of mine, No. 411,302,I have shown a rectangularplate of metal having holes in each corner which receive the inner endsof helical springs whose outer ends are connected by means of strapmetal braces to the four corners of the mattress frame; the arrangementof parts being such that a line drawn from one corner of the bed to thediagonally opposite corner will intersect centrally and lengthwise twoof the braces and springs and will cross the plate diagonally, thetension of the springs, being normally practically uniform, with theplate in the center of the bed. It is obvious that if the tension of oneof the springs be materially increased, say enough to draw the plate sixinches toward that corner of the bed, the additional tension will bepractically equal upon that spring and the one which is diagonallyopposite to it; but, there will be very little proportionate increase inthe tension of the other two springs, from the fact that the abovereferred to displacement of the plate and the resulting disturbance inthe alignment of the last mentioned two springs and their braces willbut slightly increase the length of a line drawn from the outer ends ofsaid braces centrally IIO through them, their springs, and the metalplate.

In Fig. '5 the inner ends of the helical springs are connected with eachother by means of a transversely disposed single bar link N provided atits ends with two eyes n, 'n, with which the hooks are engaged; andthrough which a substantially uniform tension upon all of the springsand strap braces is maintained, and can be adjusted by shortening anyoneof the strings or its connected brace. I

In each and every one of the constructions the mode of operation issubstantially the same in the following respect, among others: When anyspring has its tension increased at either end additional strain isimparted to the two braces which are nearest to that particular spring;but at the same time part of the increased pull is transferred to theopposite pair of braces which lie adjacent to the other side of the bed,and tend to deflect-them still more from a straight line; so that thetension is practically uniform upon all of the braces; thus operating ina manner quite different from that which is possible when the springsand braces are connected to my central'rectangular metal plate.

While I have illustrated the best mode now known to me for carrying myinvention into practice, I do not wish to be limited thereby;

because many modifications will readily suggest themselves to any onewho is familiar rod or bar connected to the end of the fabric and havingits ends bent outward at right angles to its intermediate main portion,and a 40 series of springs each connected at one end to the frame and atits other end to the wire rod or bar, the bent ends of the rod beingwithin the end springs of the series, whereby the springs and the bentends of the rods act 5 as stops, substantially as set forth.

, 2. In a bed, the combination of the wire fabric, the wire rod havingits ends bent outward at right angles to itsintermediate main portion, aseries of springs each connected at of metal braces each attached at oneend to a corner of the frame, and tension devices comprising atransverse connection located about midway between the ends of theframe, each side pair of braces being disposed on lines which intersecteach other at one end of the '6 5 transverse connection at a pointintermediate between the center of the bed and one of the side rails,substantially as set forth.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

JAMES B. RYAN. Witnesses:

SAML. J. EVERITT, SYLVESTER POPE.

